Chunks of metal in drained tranny oil (WRX)

[gpd323]

I have searched w/o success 1st off.
A couple of years ago I recall a WRX owner had drained his trans oil and found large chunks of metal attached to the magnetic plug. This metal he thought was part of the syncro due to some brass coloring of the pieces.
He also posted a picture of the pieces and a large thread began in discussion.

I changed my tranny oil for the 4th time and usually there is a small oil slurry and very fine metal mixture on the magnetic plug. Not this time. I have large pieces about the size of BB's that were stuck to the plug. I have had no issues with shifting or changes in feel.

I am trying to find this thread so I can follow up on what actually happened in the end.

I plan on taking the metal to a Sube service to see what they say.

Does anyone know where this thread went?? Or had a simular experience??

Thanks all for your time and effort.
Cheers,
Greg Downing

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[gpd323]

TTT

Only this once.

Cheers,
Greg D.

[Stanley]

I have not had a similar experience, but you might try searching the archives. I'd guess some posts may have been lost during the piss contest between the two founders, Nick and Alex.
Definitely keep the metal you found as evidence in case you have some problems in the near future. Hopefully not, though.

Cool Mazda, btw.

[IllNastyImpreza]

stock 5mt tranny's are garbage...weak gears and such. Its verry common to see "metal chunk" buildup on the magnet. The gearoil the comes stock from the factory does not allow your syncros to mesh verry fast @ all. And this results in grinding....Wich only gets WORSE. Personaly...I cant wait to swap that damn thing out.

[gpd323]

When I got my WRX in March 2001 it did have the nasty habit of grinding into 1st. No way could I get into 1st at anything over a slow walk.
Then I switched to Redline 75-90 Wt NS and just a wee bit improvement in the 1st gear issue. Shifting was improved in all the other gears, especially 2nd when cold.
Next I went to Redline lightweight shockproof, straight 3.7 qts. This made a huge improvement in the 1st gear issue. I could now get into 1st on a roll and no more grinding from a stop if I pushed into 1st to quickly. But, with straight RL lightweight shockproof, boy was the gear rattle loud! I ran it like this for a short time then drained the tranny and put in 3 qts of RL 75-90wt NS and .7 qt of the LW shockproof. This was a very good combo. Still could get into 1st on a roll and it shifted very nicely.
Next, I had heard some using straight RL Heavyweight shockproof with good results. So this time I used 2qts of 75-90wt NS and 1.7 qt of Heavyweight shockproof. At this tranny oil change this is when I found the large metal chunks stuck to my magnetic drain plug. Never before had this happened.
This cocktail works OK, but its stiff into 2nd when cold and 1st is balky. So tomorrow I drain the trans again and use a mixture of RL NS, HW shoockproof and lightweight shockproof to hopefully loosen up the viscosity some.
In all the times I have changed the tranny oil, this was the 1st time I found large chunks of metal in the oil. They are not gear teeth, they look like a spacer, maybe a syncro because the chucks are curved shaped and very thin material.
Sorry for the long post. I hope this helps others.
Cheers, Greg D

[gpd323]

PS: I searched the archives for the thread years ago that mentioned the same pieces of metal I found on my drain plug with no results.
Must be long gone by now.
Cheers, People!
Greg Downing